Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

As Shakespeare wrote, 'The truth will out'.

The mystery beneficiaries of 'ill-advised' honoraria payments at Kennet District Council have been revealed at last thanks to Private Eye (PE) and the Information Commissioner.

The magazine's 'Rotten Boroughs' column has exposed what it describes as 'ham-fisted attempts to protect the names of senior officers who pocketed thousands in a secret pay deal.'

Wiltshire Council tried to keep the payments secret but PE used the Freedom of Information act to get at the truth. It states 'Although public money was involved, Tory Wiltshire Council ... refused to name names following a FoI request, citing the data protection act.'

Following the Information Commissioner's ruling that the refusal to disclose was not in the public interest, the magazine was able to reveal that the beneficiaries of the scheme were Chief Executive Mark Boden, HR director Anne Ewing and Chief Finance Officer Andrew Hart. The trio 'not only helped decide who among 20-odd officers received what, but also trousered pocket money themselves: £10,360 for Boden, £5,733 for Ewing and £6,298 for Hart.'

The trio claimed that they were taking the payments for work in preparing for the switch to Wiltshire Council, but auditors KPMG pointed out that this was what they were employed to do anyway.

Private Eye also quotes an email from Hart explaining how officers who knew about the deal needed to be given a cut to ensure their silence!

Wiltshire Council has previously intimated that no action will be taken against the three but, now that their names are in the public domain, I will be asking that action be taken against all three.

Incidentally, Mr. Boden recently accepted a redundancy package from WC. I have lodged a FoI request with the council to find out how much more council tax payer money has found its way into his bank account.

The last time that Jane Scott had to speak in public about this was in February 2011. In an answer to my question to her at a full council meeting she replied 'The Council is pursuing two claims amounting to a total sum of £20,000. Both cases are being contested... The Council is considering its position in the light of the points raised in defence.' Since then - silence; until now.